Oil and Water Today we set off nice and early in our business casual for our last site visit of the trip.  Before then we did I quick stop in oil tanker culture park, a park the doubles as museum and walking paths through trees. However, unfortunately it had recently been sold as private property,…

DMZ and Baseball Today started relatively late at 930 and our first stop was to a small restaurant before the DMZ where we had some solider stew. This a recipe from the Korean war where food was scavenged from camps of other countries’ soldiers left and seasonal vegetables. The strew we had included hot dog,…

Camp Casey and Mount Soyosan Today we huddled up at 8:20 and were off on our first charter bus since Friday to Camp Casey. Camp Casey is South Koreas 2nd largest military base located just about an hour south of Seoul. Founded during the Korean War, it was originally established as a base for the…

Baegunbongammun mountain and a cooking class Today a small group of us started off bright and early at 6:30am to go hiking. We were set to have a two hour long hike up Baegunbongammun mountain which is the highest peak in Seoul at an altitude of 836m. We first had the long journey of getting…

Hanbok Village, Jogyesa Temple, Family connections Today we got up at 930 and headed out to Hanbok Village. This village is one of the few traditional villages left in Korea and is still a residential area today. Previously a village for noble families, during the Japanese occupation though they attempted to completely wipe out traditional…

Yonsei University Today was a late start at 9:40, but we had a delay due to passport issues and a tandem doctor’s visit for 2 different group members.   After leaving at 10am we were off to Yonsei University, one of the top 3 universities in Korea. Yonsei is celebrating its 140-year anniversary being founded…

Taekwondo and Seoul City Hall Today’s itinerary I was very much looking forward to since the schedule was posted. We took a Taekwondo class and went to visited the impressive Seoul City Hall.  Our first stop was to a traditional Taekwondo class where we learned the basic principles of martial art. We learned the three…

Hyundai and Han River cruise Today we got up bright and early and had to meet in the lobby by 6:50am where we were given breakfast by Asia Institute in the form of a sandwich and some mochi.   Our first stop was Hyundai where we were given a factory tour. Hyundai was founded in 1967…

Fredit(hy), TK Elevator, and K-BBQ We start up again today a little later at 830 and board our charter bus routed for Fredit Co at 8:45. After some minor navigational challenges we find ourselves on Fredit’s yogurt drink factory for a tour.  Fredit is a yogurt production company that was founded in 1969 to bring…

wow what a day and a half We start our Korea trip in beautiful Pittsburgh at 12pm check in on firday May 9th. Once we go though all the pre-departure protocols and slides its time to have a light lunch before last stretches, on the bus and away to the airport at 3:30pm. After an…